Astros owner Jim Crane has made sweeping changes in the team’s baseball operations, dismissing team president Tal Smith and general manager Ed Wade.

Astros chief executive officer George Postolos said the team informed Smith and Wade of the changes on Sunday night.

“With the change in ownership, we would like a fresh start in baseball operations,” Postolos said in a statement issued though the team late Sunday. “We have told Ed and Tal that we are making a change. We recognize their dedication to the Houston Astros. We thank each of them for their significant contributions and many years of service to the Astros, and wish them our very best as they pursue new opportunities.”

Postolos said assistant general manager David Gottfried will serve as interim GM but is not a candidate for the permanent job. The search for a new GM, Postolos said, “begins immediately.”

A search would have to conclude swiftly if Crane intends to have at least part of a new management team in place for baseball’s winter meetings. The meetings, which run Dec. 5-8 in Dallas, are a gathering place for teams to make trades. Crane is on record saying a payroll that was at about $60 million at the end of 2011 will “go backward before it goes forward.” The Astros have $45 million committed to four players (first baseman Carlos Lee, pitchers Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Brandon Lyon) in 2012.

Crane, who completed his purchase of the team from Drayton McLane last Tuesday, has expressed a desire to build the team through the draft and the minor-league system. At the top of the wish list of virtually any team inclined to build through that route is Tampa Bay Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman, a Houston native. Another potential candidate to run the baseball operations would be former Astros GM Gerry Hunsicker, the Rays senior vice president of baseball operations.

An attempt to purchase the Rangers in 2010 gave Crane considerable insight into that organization’s inner workings under team president Nolan Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels. Crane has cited the Rangers as a model for how he’d like to operate, which would figure to make Daniels underlings A.J. Preller and Thad Levine viable candidates.

“We are searching for a candidate who has the knowledge, skills and experience to build a winner and a strong commitment to player development in order to sustain success,” Postolos said. “Our goal is to consistently compete for a championship, and we know the first step towards that goal is to develop one of the top farm systems in baseball. We will hire the best candidate available to achieve our goal.”

How the departures of Smith and Wade affect other key Astros operatives is unclear.

Manager Brad Mills is under contract through 2012 with a club option for 2013. He has gone 132-192 with a team that has shed franchise icons Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman and All-Stars Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn the past two seasons.

Scouting director Bobby Heck, another Wade hire, has had four players from his first three drafts (catcher Jason Castro, pitcher Jordan Lyles, outfielders J.D. Martined and J.B. Shuck) reach the majors. Heck invested the second-highest bonus in franchise history ($2.525 million) in outfielder George Springer, the No. 11 pick overall in 2011. The Astros have the No. 1 pick in the 2012 draft.

Smith has been affiliated with the Astros for 35 years, including the past 17 as team president. His 55-year career in baseball includes a stint as Astros GM that produced a National League West title in 1980. During his team presidency, Smith oversaw the Astros’ move from the Astrodome to Minute Maid Park in 2000.

Wade took over as GM after the 2007 season, and the team is 63 games below .500 on his watch. He replaced Tim Purpura as GM after the 2007 season, inheriting an aging roster and a threadbare minor-league system. The drafts of 2005-2007 sent four players to the major leagues, creating a void of talent that has become increasingly apparent in recent seasons. Five of the acquired in trades of Pence and Bourn this past July moved into Baseball America’s Top-10 list of prospects in the Astros minor-league system.